Save Money by Propagating Your Own House Plants

This post has a slight twist on how you can propagate your own plants. I am not talking about saving seeds from your garden. I am not talking about dividing up your outdoor plants. (I wrote a post on that last month.) This post is about how to save a plant and from it, make a new one. It is so much cheaper then purchasing new plants!

This particular opportunity occurred when I dropped one of my African violet plants. The pot broke and so did the plant. I really like growing African violets. The flowers are quite pretty and the plant is easy to grow. So, as I picked up the pieces, my thoughts turned to how to replace it. Normal people would have discarded the plant and broken pot and purchased new ones. I think that you, my readers, know by now that I am not normal! Of course, I didn't purchase a new one. I believe that would waste money. There is another way!

Instead, I carefully looked at each piece of the plant to see if any could be salvaged. I was in luck because I found one.

Place the piece in a disposable cup with a bit of water in the bottom. Have the water barely cover the bottom end of the plant. (If you add too much water, the plant will rot.)

Check it every few days to see if it needs new water. In a few weeks it will grow new roots. I got busy with life and this one stayed in the cup for slightly over one month. Don't add anything but water. The plant doesn't need any food.

Now it is time to re-pot the plant. I didn't have to purchase another African violet pot because someone gave me one as a gift a few years ago and I wasn't using it.

And we're done! Simple, effective, not much time or effort, and it didn't cost anything. While I did lose some of the older leaves during the past month, I didn't lose the plant. The leaves I lost will be replaced with new ones in just a few short weeks! I expect it to flower again before the summer is over.

This idea works for many, many different kinds of house plants. I have even used this technique on outdoor plants. One of the peanut plants my unwanted chipmunk tore up earlier this year was also salvageable. I used the same process on it. I brought it inside and place it in a cup. In a few weeks it grew new roots and I had a plant that could go back out into the garden. In addition to peanuts, this year I have also had success doing this with strawberries and roses.

Being frugal is really about watching your pennies. Saving a few cents here and there can really add up! You may find there isn't any need to spend money on new plants! You can propagate your own for free!